The desk that belonged to the writer Dr Samuel Johnson is set to make its return to his former London home for the first time in over 260 years. However, its authenticity has come into question, with a possibility that it may have been part of a Victorian ploy to make money. Visitors to the new museum exhibition will be asked whether they believe it is the real desk of the renowned 18th Century dictionary author.
Dr Samuel Johnson was a literary giant in the 18th Century, widely known for compiling the most comprehensive dictionary of the English language at that time in 1755. The wooden desk on which he wrote the dictionary was present at his home in Gough Square, which is now a museum showcasing his story. Since the 19th Century, the Pembroke College Oxford has had possession of the desk, which is on loan to the Dr Johnson House museum as the star attraction of the new museum exhibition.
The desk came into the college’s possession through a clergyman who had a close relationship with Dr Johnson’s god-daughter, Elizabeth Ann Lowe, and her sister. A plaque was attached to it to signify its historical value. The question of authenticity arises from whether the sisters ever had the desk or whether they used their connection to the literary giant as a means of guilting famous writers of that time for money.
Researchers have uncovered records of petitions for money by Elizabeth Ann Lowe and her sister, which were essentially begging letters, with varying and inconsistent stories. While the desk is from the right era, there is no clear proof that it was Johnson’s desk. Visitors to the exhibition will have to accept this ambiguity and give their views on whether they think it is the desk on which Dr Johnson wrote his dictionary
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